SEC Week in Review

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The past weekend was the opening weekend for the Southeastern Conference play. As always in the SEC, the weekend was full of exciting game play and surprising outcomes.

SEC EAST

Florida vs Vanderbilt

The Florida Gators took on Vanderbilt this weekend and swept the Commodores to extend their winning streak to 17 games. Florida’s senior Preston Tucker earned SEC Player of the Week honors as he tallied nine RBI for the week and three home runs while scoring six. On Friday, Florida took over the game with a five-run fifth as junior RHP Hudson Randall threw six strikeouts over 6.2 innings. The Commodores scored twice by the fifth inning with a single from Mike Yastrzemski in the first and Anthony Gomez in the fifth, both with two outs. On Saturday, Florida junior LHP Brian Johnson threw nine strikeouts over six shutout innings as Tucker dented another home run to build the lead in the 5-1 game. The Gators took the sweep on Sunday in an 8-2 victory over the Commodores, thanks to a three-run third inning. The Florida Gators are now 3-0 in conference play while the Vanderbilt Commodores are 0-3.

Fri: Florida 10 Vanderbilt 2
Sat: Florida 5 Vanderbilt 1
Sun: Florida 8 Vanderbilt 2

Georgia vs Tennessee

The Georgia Bulldogs played the Tennessee Volunteers this weekend and claimed the series, but the Vols avoided the sweep on Sunday with a 3-0 win. On Friday, Georgia scored three runs in the second and one run in the third before the game went into an hour-long lightning delay just before the fifth inning started. Upon game return, both teams went scoreless and Georgia took the 4-0 shutout victory over the Volunteers. On Saturday, the Bulldogs gathered 10 runs on 18 hits in a comeback over the Commodores as freshman Hunter Cole went 3-for-4 with a home run in the fourth. The Vols had been leading 5-1 by that point, but the Bulldogs scored five runs in the fourth that would go unanswered the rest of the game. Tennessee salvaged the final game of the series in a 3-0 victory while senior Davis Morgan blasted a two-run shot, as sophomore Nick Williams pitched six shutout innings. The Georgia Bulldogs start the season 2-1 in SEC play while the Tennessee Volunteers are 1-2.

Fri: Georgia 4 Tennessee 0
Sat: Georgia 10 Tennessee 5
Sun: Tennessee 3 Georgia 0

Kentucky vs South Carolina

The Kentucky Wildcats turned some heads this weekend as they swept the defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks. The Wildcats quickly soared to the #2 and #3 spots in the major rankings after the weekend, as they added to their school-record 21 game win streak. On Friday, the Wildcats entered the bottom of the ninth losing 3-2 until junior Luke Maile blasted a two-run shot for the walk-off. In a series opener against the South Carolina Gamecocks, that electricity would last them the entire rest of the weekend. On Saturday, freshman AJ Reed not only drove in the game-winning run, but also picked up the win in relief as the Wildcats won 4-3. Reed took the honors as SEC Freshman Player of the Week for his performance this weekend. On Sunday, Maile hit another two-run homer in the first to start what would finish as a Kentucky sweep over South Carolina. The Wildcat bullpen only alloweod one hit in 10.2 shutout innings and picked up all three wins.

Fri: Kentucky 4 South Carolina 3
Sat: Kentucky 4 South Carolina 3
Sun: Kentucky 6 South Carolina 3

SEC WEST

Alabama vs Arkansas

The Alabama Crimson Tide was swept this weekend by the #4 Arkansas Razorbacks. The SEC opener on Friday night lasted 12 innings before sophomore Jake Wise earned a walk with the bases loaded to take the first win of the series. The Razorbacks combined for 12 walks in the first game of the weekend. On Saturday, Arkansas took the series behind sophomore Ryne Stanek as he gave up two runs in 5.2 innings. Stanek got his fifth win of the season and extended his victory streak to seven straight victories. Arkansas once again put up an alarmingly high nine walks in the second game against Alabama. In the series finale, Arkansas got 11 hits in the 7-4 victory to take the sweep. Good small-ball and placement hitting was present for the Razorback’s win in all three games of this series. Arkansas is 3-0 in conference play and Alabama is 0-3.

Fri: Arkansas 4 Alabama 3 (12)
Sat: Arkansas 8 Alabama 4
Sun: Arkansas 7 Alabama 4

LSU vs Mississippi State

The LSU Tigers hosted the Mississippi State Bulldogs this weekend and took the series, going 2-1 so far in SEC play while Mississippi State salvaged the final game and is 1-2. On Friday night, a pitcher’s duel brought the game into extra innings before Tigers second baseman JaCoby Jones hit a bases-loaded single for a walk-off win in the 10th. A run was scored by each team in the first two innings and remained a 1-1 game until the 10th, when Mississippi State scored once in the top half of the inning and the Tigers took home the victory with two in the bottom half. On Saturday, LSU first baseman Mason Katz hit a two-run home run to start the game and the Tigers got a couple insurance runs later in the fourth and sixth, both of which would be needed as Mississippi State tried to come back in the 4-3 game. RHP Ryan Eades threw seven innings and only allowed one run for the Tigers on Saturday. In the final game of the series, Mississippi State started off the first with five runs and never looked back as they beat the Tigers 7-1. Junior RHP Kendall Graveman gave the Mississippi State’s bullpen a rest as he threw a complete game, as the offensive line-up got hit after hit to gain a five-run lead in the first. The Tigers are now 2-1 in conference play while the Bulldogs are 1-2.

Fri: LSU 3 Mississippi State 2 (10)
Sat: LSU 4 Mississippi State 3
Sun: Mississippi State 7 LSU 1

Ole Miss vs Auburn

The Ole Miss Rebels hosted the Auburn Tigers this weekend in a surprising turn of events. On Friday, Auburn senior RHP Derek Varnadore allowed just two runs on five hits in 6.2 innings, but those two runs couldn’t be overcome in the game. On Saturday, the Tigers made up for the game to score 10 runs in two 5-run innings. Sophomore Zach Alvord hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to give the Tigers the extra push they needed to capitalize over Ole Miss. In the final game of the series, Tigers left fielder Cullen Wacker was the hero after robbing Ole Miss of a two-run home run in the fifth, and then proceeded to drive in the game-tying run in the ninth. Despite a great performance by Rebel sophomore RHP Mike Mayers, who pitched a spectacular career-long 8.2 innings, the Tigers took advantage of back-to-back doubles and scored the winning run to take the series in Oxford. The Auburn Tigers come home with a 2-1 record in conference play while the Ole Miss Rebels are 1-2.

Fri: Ole Miss 2 Auburn 1
Sat: Auburn 10 Ole Miss 4
Sun: Auburn 3 Ole Miss 2

• SEC Player Of The Week – Florida Senior Preston Tucker

• SEC Freshman Player of the Week – Kentucky freshman AJ Reed